HOSPITAL users in Hinckley have been making their feelings known on plans for the future of health services in the town.

Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust (PCT) chiefs spent an afternoon at Hinckley leisure centre talking to people about its proposals to provide all hospital services from the Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital site on Ashby Road.

It was part of a public consultation into plans to change the way health services are offered in this area, which include selling the old Hinckley and District Hospital, on Mount Road, and moving GP surgeries from Hill Street to an extended out-of-town complex.

The aim is to have a bigger and better hospital on the one site, offering extra services and clinics, including a walk-in minor injuries unit.

GPs in the area, including Darren Jackson, who is based at Barwell Medical Centre, says it makes more sense to have all services under one roof and believes it will be far more user-friendly for patients.

Many patients, however, say the plans make no allowance for people without private transport, who will have to rely on everyday bus services or expensive taxis to get to and from the out-of-town site.

Everyone who attended the consultation event was asked to fill in a questionnaire and PCT spokesman Sue Cavill said it was clear transport was the main bone of contention.

PCT chairman John Gant, who was at the leisure centre along with other senior trust members, has met representatives of Hinckley and Bosworth Pensioners Action Group (PAG) to discuss the issue.

He said the trust was working with the county council and bus operators in a bid to address the problem - and pledged that any other issues of concern, raised during the day, or in writing or online, would also be taken into account before final plans were drawn up.

Mr Gant said: We want people to know that we are not some sort of unaccountable, faceless organisation.

We want to take peoples ideas back and put them into our final thoughts - while we ultimately have to make a judgement of what, in our view, is best for the area we are operating in.

The public consultation ends on October 5 and a summary of all the feedback received will be published in November.